Wednesday, January 1, 2014

That government is best which governs least!

My
home town Pune was a small village before it became the residence of
the second Peshawa Baji Rao I, in 1730 and became the de
facto
capital of the Maratha empire by year 1749. At that time there was no
independent or
organised Police Department as such in Pune. Every village at that
time had to make its own arrangement for the safety of its people and
property, and the Patil
or the headman
was used to be responsible for the policing his village.

By
1761, during reign of fourth Peshawa Madhav Rao, Pune had become the
chief capital of the Marathas and consequently the true centre of all
Maratha activities. It had naturally risen in population and
importance. The Peshwa realised the necessity of organizing a
separate Police establishment for the City and created for the first
time a regular office of a Police Commissioner known as Kotwal,
and appointed Balaji Narayan Ketkar, as the first Kotwal in 1764. He
was an independent authority and would communicate directly with the
Ministers of the Peshwa. Very soon the Kotwal
had a large establishment consisting of a mounted and armed
constabulary with horses, who were then called as Shibundis.
There were number of police posts that were placed in and about the
city.

The
armed constabulary of Pune soon established a strict rule of law and
order in the city that protected ordinary citizens of Pune from any
unlawful activities of anti social elements. A gun was fired at 11 PM
every night, after which no person could stir out of his house unless
accompanied by a designated Government official until 4 o'clock in
the morning, when, on another signal of gun, all the restrictions
ceased and normal city life began. Historians agree that Pune's
police or Kotwali
system
with all its abuses and drawbacks, proved successful in maintaining
peace and order and preventing crime in the country.

Readers
might be wondering as to why I have suddenly jumped into history of
my city and it's medieval police force? But there is a reason for
that. Pune's present police commissioner, probably inspired by the
Kotwal
of
yesteryear, or just to follow the footsteps of the police
commissioner of Mumbai, suddenly decided this week, to impose
restrictions similar to what Kotwal
of eighteenth century had imposed, on people of Pune on the night of
31st
December 2013. To avoid eve-teasing and molestation, the Police
Commissioner of Pune asked the hotels and pubs to close by 1.30AM
on the night of 31st
December 2013.

The
order has not been liked by the young people as well as hoteliers. A
representative body of Hotel owners naturally opposed the government
decision and moved the Bombay High Court. Their main complaint was
that the orders were issued at the last minute. They had made the
preparations and had invested a lot of money. They felt that they
have no clue why this decision was taken. The Bombay High Court,
responding to the appeal ordered on 31st
December itself, that the hotels can be kept open till 5 AM,
virtually negating the Police Commissioner's order.

Young
people also felt that curbing New Year celebrations at 1.30 AM was
outright foolish act. This is one night everyone celebrates together,
around the world, and hopes for a better year. If legal
celebrations are curbed it would only give rise to illegal ones,
which is far worse.

For
me, the real issue here is not about what time the hotels should be
closed? The real issue here is as to what extent the state should
interfere in personal lives of its citizens? I remember that one of
the American Founding Fathers, Thomas
Jefferson,
had said once:

“That
government is best which governs least, because its people discipline
themselves. If we are directed from Washington (heads of an
organization) when to sow and when to reap, we will soon want for
bread.”

How
true it is. Why should the state tell hoteliers that they should
close down at a certain hour, when their clientele wants them to
remain open and the hoteliers themselves are ready to abide by all
rules and regulations in force. Some people might argue that there is
a problem of law and order. A young man had remarked that on what
basis the police believe that anti social elements would become
active only after 1.30 PM and would remain subdued earlier to that? I
find lot of truth is what he says.

Maintaining
law and order is the basic function of Police in any state. I feel
that they should certainly be extremely rigid and non compromising
about it. Drunken or rash driving, creating ruckus or commotion on
the road in the night should be strictly controlled. There are number
of senior citizens or small children living in Pune as in any large
city. A noisy fracas or rumpus would disturb them. It is the duty
of police to see that no unruly behaviour is seen on roads. However,
to what time people drink in pubs and bars or how people celebrate
new year parties in private housing colonies, should strictly be a NO
GO for the police.

As
Thomas
Jefferson had said, let people discipline themselves. It is not the
job of the state or Police.

3 comments:

You are absolutely right. If people are not disciplined, it is the duty of the Government to see that law and order is maintained. That is not the issue here. The issue here is to what extent the Government should interfere in personal lives of the people.Should it tell people when to go home or should it tell private housing colonies not to have celebrations without its prior permissions.

If people themselves cannot be responsible for their behaviour then somebody else has to see that a few good citizens get protection. In that case, let those who you hold responsible do their job the way they see fit. If you want the job done well, you have to do it yourself, that means EVERYONE has to be responsible for their action. That's not going to happen in India for a long time, where people always depended on others to do things for them, be it servants or government.All this intellectual (psuedo-intellictual, I say) is useless when there is a large number of unintelligent, irresponsible, immoral hooligans in the society.